Mathews, Susan --- "Influencing Development Aid Negotiations: Shifting from the Margins?" [2007] HRightsDef 22; (2007) 16(3) Human Rights Defender 7

• Freedom of Movement: The case of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza

Freedom of Movement: The case of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza

Jessica Montell

Last week I took my daughter to the doctor. It’s a 20

minute drive from my house in Jerusalem to the doctor’s office. The entire trip took an hour: 20 minutes there, 20 minutes at the doctor and 20 minutes back. All in all a very uneventful journey.

This experience is only remarkable in comparison to mothers in a similar situation living just a few kilometers down the road. For the 2.4 million Palestinians in the West Bank, a routine trip to the doctor is a lengthy and stressful undertaking; an urgent trip to the doctor can turn into a real nightmare.

On 12th March, Afaf Hilmiyeh went into labor. Her house in Abu Dis is just a few metres from the Makassed hospital in Jerusalem. In between, however, is an eight-metre high wall, part of the Separation Barrier that Israel is constructing in and along the West Bank.

For days Afaf’s mother had tried to get the permit that would enable Afaf to enter Jerusalem. On the day Afaf went into labor, her mother was standing in line with Afaf’s ID card at the Za’ayem checkpoint. Her mother-in-law, Na’ama ordered a taxi and took Afaf to the nearest gate in the Barrier. Because they did not have the necessary permits, the policemen refused to let them through:

‘I begged them and finally after ten minutes one of the policemen allowed Afaf to go in by herself’, Na’ama told B’Tselem. ‘Afaf was scared of going alone, but the policemen would under no circumstance allow me to accompany her’. So Afaf and Na’ama took the taxi to the Za’ayem checkpoint. There Na’ama argued with the soldiers for half an hour, and all the while Afaf’s contractions grew stronger:
Half an hour later, two officers came to see what the problem was. They led us into a big hall, and I saw Afaf’s mother waiting on line for the permit. When she saw us she started screaming at the soldiers, ‘[h]ere is my daughter who is about to give birth and all morning you are accusing me of being a liar!’
Afaf’s contractions grew so much stronger that the officers took the three of us out of the hall and into an empty corridor. The minute we got there, Afaf started screaming that the baby’s head was coming out. I had her lie on the ground, I put my purse under her head, I took off her underwear, and then the baby came into the world while Afaf was screaming. The soldiers gathered around us and looked in astonishment. I yelled at them to move… We waited for 45 minutes until an Israeli ambulance came. One of the paramedics cut the umbilical cord and gave Afaf a shot. At that minute, one of the soldiers came with a permit for Afaf and her mother and they went to al-Makassed hospital. The soldiers allowed me to accompany them even though I had no permit.¹

Over the past 17 years, Israel has gradually increased restrictions on Palestinian movement. Prior to 1991, Palestinians could travel easily between the West Bank, Israel and Gaza. Only in rare cases was an individual Palestinian prevented for security reasons from entering or crossing through Israel. Today the opposite is the case: the entire Palestinian population is prevented from entering or crossing through Israel. It is the rare exception when a Palestinian receives the necessary permit to do so.

It is hard to overstate the importance of freedom of movement as a basic right. Indeed the enjoyment of many other rights – and sometimes even the right to life itself – depends on free movement. Thus, Israel’s restrictions on Palestinian movement have far-reaching implications on the enjoyment of virtually all economic and social rights.

Israel has subdivided the West Bank into six different sections. Eighty three fixed checkpoints, 471 physical roadblocks and the Separation Barrier restrict movement from one section to the other. Palestinians require special permits to enter the Jordan Valley, East Jerusalem and the enclaves created by the Separation Barrier. In addition, Palestinian vehicles are prohibited from traveling on 312 kilometres of main roads in the West Bank as these roads serve Israeli settlers only.

These restrictions have disrupted Palestinian commerce, obstructed access to medical care, imposed hardships on university students and faculty, and restricted social and familial ties. Simple actions such as going to work in a nearby town, marketing farm produce, obtaining medical treatment and visiting relatives can entail lengthy bureaucratic procedures to obtain the necessary permit. Even when permits are not necessary, Palestinians may have to stop at several checkpoints and complete part of the journey on foot.

Baslan Al-Fares owned a small amusement park in Badhan village, just three kilometres from the city of Nablus. ‘People from across the West Bank as well as Arabs from Israel would come to our park and the profits were good’, he told B’Tselem:

We worked between March and September and our income was about 300,000 NIS. We lived a dignified life on this income for the entire year. With the outbreak of the second Intifada [in September 2001] the situation changed. The Israeli army closed the main road that connected Al-Badhan to Nablus and placed four big mounds of dirt on it. Residents of Nablus have not been able to come to the town by car since then. Initially, it was possible to cross on foot. The soldiers stood next to the dirt mounds and checked the ID cards and belongings. But after a few months, the army even prohibited passage by foot. Now we can only get to Nablus on dirt roads that twist and bend for 15 kilometers. These roads are damaged and full of potholes. The travel is very expensive, very time consuming, and very hard, especially during the winter months when it’s rainy and muddy.

Because of the difficulties in reaching Al-Badhan, people stopped coming to the park and we were forced to close it. Today, we no longer have a business. I have searched for another job but have not found one. My brothers who work in the Gulf states send me money so I can support my family. I feel that I am a burden on them and it pains me very much, but I don’t know what else I can do.[2]

In addition to the quantifiable effects of these restrictions on economy and health, there are also less tangible effects. How to measure, for example, the loss of an amusement park for Palestinian children? Or the emotional burden when every journey is fraught with uncertainty, and entails unnecessary investment of time and money?

In the Gaza Strip, the situation is even more dire. This tiny territory is virtually locked down. Movement has been severelly restricted for the past seven years, but since Hamas’ military take-over in June, almost none of the 1.4 million residents can get in or out of Gaza. Even the seriously ill in need of medical treatment unavailable in Gaza face innumerable obstacles to reach hospitals in East Jerusalem, Israel or abroad. Between July and September 2007, Physicians for Human Rights-Israel (PHR) received 138 appeals from Gazans whose request for access to medical care was rejected by the Israeli authorities. As a result of legal and public intervention, PHR obtained exit permits for 52 of them. It appears that the situation has even further deteriorated after the Israeli Cabinet decision in October to declare Gaza a ‘hostile entity’.[3]

The tiny Gaza economy is completely dependent on imports of raw materials and various foodstuffs, and exports of agriculture and other products. Since June virtually all exports have been halted and Gaza tomatoes and strawberries rot at the border crossing. Imports have also been severely curtailed, with Israel only allowing passage of the most essential goods, like medicines and bags of flour. As a result, the previously struggling Gaza economy has suffered a mortal blow. Some 75% of Gaza’s factories have shut down.[4] Even before the recent deterioration, 87% of Gazans lived below the poverty line, with over 80% dependent on food aid from the international community.[5]

Israel’s justification for all of its restrictions is that they are necessary for security. Indeed, Israel faces serious security concerns. In the past seven years, over 700 Israeli civilians have been killed in indiscriminate attacks by Palestinian militants.[6] On a regular basis, Palestinians fire rockets from the Gaza Strip into Israeli communities. Israel is entitled to protect itself by employing various measures, including the imposition of restrictions on movement. However, the breadth and duration of the restrictions it has imposed and the resulting grave harm that this policy has caused to the Palestinian civilian population constitute a flagrant breach of its legal obligations.

In some cases, security concerns camouflage other motivations. While the Israeli Cabinet approved construction of the Separation Barrier to prevent Palestinians from entering Israel, the actual route chosen for the Barrier - 80% of which lies within the West Bank rather than on the border with Israeli – is dictated by the desire to perpetuate and expand Israeli settlements.[7]

For over a decade B’Tselem has documented Israel’s restrictions on Palestinian movement. B’Tselem has also worked to ensure accountability, both vis a vis the individual soldier who prevents a pregnant woman from reaching the hospital, for example, and towards the policymakers who formulate these illegal policies. Yet accountability does not stop at Israel’s borders; it must extend to the international community as well.

Europe and the United States are particularly involved in this context, whether in their diplomatic efforts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, in bi-lateral relations with Israel or in the provision of humanitarian assistance to Palestinians. This involvement also carries with it legal obligations to respect and ensure human rights. Take the example of the Gaza Strip, where Israeli policies, some of them illegal, have created a humanitarian crisis. Israel has a responsibility for the welfare of the civilian population and must remedy any wrongs it has committed. Yet in fact, it is Europe (in its funding of various humanitarian agencies) that is currently ensuring the welfare of the population. While European generosity is commendable, aid without accountability only makes the Palestinians poorer and more dependent.

Israelis and Palestinians all have the basic right to live in safety and dignity. The international community has a crucial role to play in ensuring that these rights are respected.

Jessica Montell is the Executive Director of B’Tselem, the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories

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[1] Na’ama Muhammad Hilmiyeh, 64, gave the testimony to B’Tselem fieldworker Kareem Jubran, at the witness’ house in Abu Dis, on 27 March, 2007.

[2] Baslan Al-Fares, 44, gave the testimony to B’Tselem fieldworker Salma a-Dab’i in the local council of Al-Badhan on 29 November, 2006.

[3] See PHR-Israel press release: Following PHR-Israel appeal, Israeli authorities reverse ‘security prohibitions’ on patients. <http://www.phr.org.il/phr/article.asp?articleid=494 & catid=55 & pcat=-1 & lang=ENG> at 29 October 2007.

[4] Gisha, Commercial Closure: Deleting Gaza’s Economy from the Map, July 2007. <http://www.gisha.org/UserFiles/File/publications_english/Publications%20and%20Reports_English/Formatted-Deleting%20Gaza%20Economy%20from%20the%20Map.doc> at 29 October 2007.

[5] See OCHA and WFP reports.

[6] For a complete list of Israeli casualties, see B’Tselem’s website: <www.btselem.org> at 29 October 2007.

[7] See B’Tselem and Bimkom: Under the Guise of Security: Routing the Separation Barrier to Enable Israeli Settlement Expansion in the West Bank, December 2005.